For Folk's Sake » Broadcast 2000

FFS Recommends | 10 releases from fire-hit labels

Lynn Roberts — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:40:41 +0000

You’ve probably heard about the fire at distributors PIAS‘s London warehouse that destroyed the stock of many independent labels.

Below is a list of releases from some of the labels affected. Each one comes extremely highly recommended from us here at FFS. If any of them are missing from your collection, why not buy a digital copy to help support our independent music industry?

*NOTE* We have provided a direct link to the label’s website where available.

	Broken Sound Music Rachael Dadd – Elephee buy now
	Drowned In Sound Recordings Martha Wainwright – I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too buy now
	FatCat Records Dustin O’Hallorhan – Lumiere buy now
	Sonic Cathedral Sarabeth Tucek – Get Well Soon buy now
	Drag City Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me buy now
	Domino Diamond Mine – King Creosote & Jon Hopkins buy now
	Full Time Hobby The Leisure Society – Into the Murky Water buy now
	Navigator Drever, McCusker, Woomble – Before the Ruin buy now
	Gronland Broadcast 2000 – Broadcast 2000 buy now
	Rough Trade The Decemberists – The King is Dead buy now

Full list of labels from the PIAS website:
[PIAS] Recordings, [PIAS] Recordings Belgium, 4AD, A Camp, Absynthe Minded, Accidental, AEI Music, Air Recordings, ALC Music, Alsation, Ambush Reality, Ancient & Modern, Angular Recording Corporation, Arcady Records, Ark Recordings, Asthmatic Kitty Records, Atlantic Jaxx Recordings, Bad Magic, Balling The Jack, Banquet Records, Battered Ornaments Records, Beggars Banquet, Best Before, Big Brother, Big Dada, Bird Records, Blackmaps, Bloody Chamber, Blowout Music, Blue Chopsticks, Border Community, Borstal Beats, Boysnoize Records, BPM, Brainfeeder, Brassland, Bright Star Recordings, Brille, Broken Sound Music, Bronzerat, Brothers and Sisters, Brownswood Recordings, Buzzin’ Fly, Cache Cache, Cadenza Records, Celluloid Records, Chalkmark / IE, Chemikal Underground Records, Cocoon, Control Tower, Counter Records, Dance To The Radio, Dead Oceans, Deceptive, Defenders, Ent UK, DESOLAT, Dessous, Different, Dirtee Stank, Divine Comedy Records, Domino Records, Double Six Records, Drag City, Dreambrother, Drive Thru Records, Drowned In Sound, Dummy Records, Duophonic, Eat Sleep Records, Fabric Worldwide, Fake Diamonds, FantasyTrashcan, Fatcat Records, Fence, Feraltone, Finders Keepers Records, Flock Music, Flying Circus, Freerange Records, Friends Vs Records, Full Pupp, Full Time Hobby, Gang Of Four Recordings, Geographic, Ghost Ship, Glaze Recordings, Groenland Records, G-Unit, Hardly Art, Hassle Records, Helpless, Hem Hem Records, HFN Music, Immune, Independiente, Infant, Infectious, Jagjaguwar, Kartel, Kitchenware, Kitsune, KMS Records / Fabric, Laughing Stock, Lex Records, Lipservice, Little Sister Recordings, LO-MAX Records, Loose Music, Lovepump United, Low Life Records, Lucky Number Music, Lucky Seven Records, Mantra, Matador, Memphis Industries, Merok, Metric Music International, Metroline Limited, Model Citizen, Moikai, Motion Audio, MyMajorLabel Ltd, Nation, Ninja Tune, No Quarter, NovaMute, Nusic Sounds, One Four Seven Records Ltd, One Little Indian, Organs, Outcaste, OVNI, P.I.L., Peartree, Records, PeMa, People In The Sky, People Tree, Pirates Blend Records Inc, Planet Function, Play It Again Sam, Playlouder, Poker Flat, Polyvinyl, Records, Poseidon Records, Post Present, Pschent, Raw Canvas, Red Cord Records, REK’D, Rekids, Rekords Rekords, Renaissance, Reveal Records, Riverman Records, Rock Action Records, Roots Records, Rough Trade Records, Rubyworks, Sea Note, Search and Destroy, Secretly Canadian, Setanta, Shape, SideOneDummy Records, Silva Screen, Slam Dunk Records, Smekkleysa, Soma, Sonic Cathedral, Soul Jazz Records, South Paw, Southern Fried Records, Stereo Bang Media, Stolen Recordings, Stranger Records, Streamline, Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, Sunday Best, Thrill Jockey, Tirk, Too Pure, Torque Records, Touch & Go Records, Transmission Recordings, Tri Tone, Trouble Records, True Panther, Try Harder, Turnstile, Twisted Nerve Recordings, Universal Sound, Victory Records, Wagram, Wall of Sound, Warp, Watergate, We Love You, Wiiija, Willkommen Records Ltd, Wonderfulsound, XL, Xtra Mile Recordings, Yaala Yaala, Young Turks

Got another great album suggestion? Please share it below.

Editor’s picks… Johnny Flynn, Broadcast 2000, Anni Rossi, Alela Diane, Caitlin Rose, Mara Carlyle

Lynn Roberts — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:20:42 +0000

1. Johnny Flynn singing Amazon Love with his sister Lillie for Burberry Sessions. You can also still download the free 5-track EP that Johnny Flynn recorded with the brilliant Rockfeedback for the Independent here.

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2. Broadcast 2000‘s set on Marc Riley’s 6 Music show from last year. The band plays Get Up and Go, Rouse Your Bones, All is Said and Done and their version of Regina Spektor‘s Us. Listen, listen.

Broadcast 2000 BBC 6MUSIC LIVE SESSION + INTERVIEW by broadcast2000

Head to B2000′s website for his Shed Sessions – recordings from his home studio featuring Emily & the Woods, Lucy Rose, John Smith and Laura Moody.

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3. Here’s a gorgeous performance of Own Side Now that Caitlin Rose did for the Guardian’s “How I Wrote…” series. It’s just perfect.

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4. LOVE this new(ish) Anni Rossi song – Land Majestic. It’s a getting ready to go out/driving sort of track I’d say. And it’s available for free download. Hurrah!.

5. This is a sad story. Nick from the Leisure Society is selling the guitar he wrote the first album on. Which means that TWO Ivor Novello nominated songs were composed on this guitar so it is worth at least a million pounds. If you have a million pounds bid on it now.

6. Our Helen is in love with Mara Carlyle. A pal of Willy Mason, who collaborated with him when he played a gig in South London a while back. I’m loathe to link you to a MySpace, but it’s all I have. Sorry.

7. Fancy a snoop around Alela Diane’s house?

ALELA DIANE & WILD DIVINE from More Dust Than Digital on Vimeo.

Brian’s Mixtape #45: Brian’s Album Round-up 2010

Brian — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:00:13 +0000

It’s hardly news to FFS’s regular readers that Brian’s a pretty inconsistent character. He flits about, willy-nilly, with little concern for the wellbeing of his mixtape devotees. You might be relieved to hear that he’s turning over a new Horse Chestnut leaf in 2011, but that relief might be short-lived when you realise he’s basically thieved this week’s song choices from FFS’s Assistant Editor Helen. The cad.

Luckily for Brian, she has pretty impeccable taste, so his first mixtape of 2011′s come out rather well, if he does say so himself. Stick this in your ears and get nostalgic for 2010, which was a proper stunning year for music, as it goes.

1. Beach House – Walk in the Park
2. Broadcast 2000 – Gonna Build a Mountain
3. Caitlin Rose – Sinful Wishing Well
4. Anais Mitchell – Why We Build the Wall
5. The Miserable Rich – Let Me Fade
6. Sea of Bees – Wizbot
7. Kristin Hersh – Sand
8. Isobel Campbell & Willy Mason) – Cool Water
9. Edwyn Collins – Bored
10. Belle & Sebastian – I Can See Your Future
11. Jenny & Johnny – Just Like Zeus
12. Regina Spektor – The Call

Head to Spotify to have a listen now, if you like.

Blog: Helen’s Album Round-up 2010

Helen True — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:15:08 +0000

When I was an undergraduate we would sometimes play the ‘would you rather…’ game. Andy and Maggie play it in Extras (‘Would you rather be a penguin who’s a bird but can’t fly or a flying fish that’s a fish that can fly a bit?’, for example). I once asked the table (all literature or drama students) ‘would you rather never read books or never listen to music ever again?’ and (I may be wrong, we were all a few vino collapsoes the worse for wear) everyone chose music. Books have been incredibly important to me all my life, but there’s something music does that just can’t be replicated.

Here are my musical highlights of 2010:

January: Beach House – Teen Dream

This brightened up the post-Christmas sadness of January 2010 no end. ‘Zebras’ is one of the most beautiful opening tracks there’ve ever been, and it really is actually a bit about zebras. It’s an ambient, smoky wonder of an album and it was a good pal throughout 2010. Anika says very very good things about it here.

February: Broadcast 2000 – Broadcast 2000

This was my out-and-out favourite album of 2010. Joe Steer (the heart and soul of Broadcast 2000) writes extraordinarily original music: I know of nothing that sounds like it. He also wrote it all by himself and made loads of the noises himself when recording it, which is especially amazing when you see how many people it takes to replicate the sound live.

His lyrics can be cynical and melancholy, but I find this album so incredibly uplifting. The double-tracked vocal harmonies are stunning, the extensive use of glockenspiel is inspired, and it’s just utterly brilliant. The broken glass noise on ‘That Sinking Feeling’ is brilliant, too. I once listened to it on a sunny walk from Old Street to the Southbank and it was one of the nicest hours I’ve ever spent.

March: Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now

Speaking as a sincere and devoted life-long Dolly Parton fan, I can’t really begin to explain how wonderful it is that Caitlin Rose even exists – she’s a young, fresh, twenty-something who knows her way around country music backwards and upside-down. There’s nothing remotely cheesy or outdated about her lyrics, and yet they fit beautifully over what is undeniably very traditional country music. She writes witty words packed with verve and intelligence, all set alight when she sings with the most gorgeous Tennessee drawl. [Exerted from my review, which you can read in full here if you so wish].

April: Anaïs Mitchell – Hadestown

Deeply dark, drenched in atmosphere, heavy beats and whining guitars, this is a folk-opera of an album set in the netherworld. Mitchell has a unique voice – high-pitched yet soft, and she’s built a mythology of her own from the old-school story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) sings Orpheus’s lines, which adds another velvety ribbon of gorgeousness to this big, big triumph of an album.

May: The Miserable Rich – Of Flight and Fury

I am almost irrationally in love with the 12th track of this 14 track album. ‘Let it Fade’ is about a break-up. Not a difficult break-up, but a slow, careful, heartbreaking one. It’s made me cry before, and songs don’t often make me cry. I didn’t even cry at Bambi (which I realise is not a song).

The whole album’s very well put together and I love the lead singer’s name (James de Malplaquet) almost as much as I love his voice. This is proper 21st Century folk music. It’s about taking your make-up off your boyfriend’s bathroom sink when you leave for the last time, dreary hang overs and train trips and it’s great.

June: Sea of Bees – Songs for the Ravens

Jules Baenziger is one of the singularly most fascinating, warm, delicately-voiced performers I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching interact with a guitar. Her songs are full of pain: wails, sighs, and half-sung gasps of words. This album’s a beautiful work of art: a journey of sorts without even approaching the corny with a barge pole. I wish I’d had it when I was 13.

July: Kristin Hersh – Crooked

Kristin Hersh understands her fans so perfectly. This album was initially released as a hardback book. You bought the book, followed the instructions inside, filled in a few ‘passwords’ online and gained access to various downloads, blog posts, videos and images. It was a treasure hunt, an album, and a beautifully intense book of poetry in one wonderful bundle. (I’m seeing Ms. Hersh live this month. I’m TOO excited).

August: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan – Hawk

This is an album of bluesy, soulful country duets that covers unconditional love, misery, jealousy, anger and attitude. Lanegan’s voice is less of a drawl on this than their previous collaborations, but the juxtaposition with Campbell’s ethereal vocals is just as strong as ever.

Willy Mason also appears with Campbell on two of the tracks, the best of which is ‘Cool Water’. It’s so gentle it’s almost breathless, and it holds you on the brink for three and a half extraordinary minutes. Gold.

September: Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep

Part of me worries that Collins (of Orange Juice fame) might be sick of people mentioning his stroke in reviews of his music, but it’s just so bloody relevant I can’t help it. When he was insanely young (46) he suffered a series of strokes that left him with right-sided weakness and speech difficulties. He practised drawing intricate pictures of birds with his left hand to improve his motor skills, and managed to regain his speech. Then he recorded an amazing album. It’s melodically astounding, lyrically frank, and unabashedly honest about his astonishing comeback.

October: Belle and Sebastian – Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

I love Belle and Sebastian. Everything they do. I especially wanted this album because it’d been such an incredibly long wait (FOUR years) for a fabulously varied, witty, beautifully executed record. ‘I Want the World to Stop’ got played almost to death on 6music and I still love it.

This is shimmering guitar pop and harmonies at their best, and no one does it better than Belle & Sebastian. No one.

November: Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

Magnificently honest, jangly, up-beat pop-rock full of scissors, test-tubes, complications and surreal distortions. Not unlike most relationships, I’ll admit, but the day-to-day of this pair is especially fascinating. ‘Just Like Zeus’ is especially fabulous: imagining Mount Olympus as a ‘pile of trash’ and the mercury in thermometers as a drug. This is the most up-beat album I’ve liked in ages.

December: Regina Spektor – Live in London

This is the closest I’m yet to come to seeing Ms. Spektor live. It’s a recording of a gig she did in Hammersmith to a large room full of very lucky ladies and gentlemen, and it bursts with strength, unassailable personality and beauty at every turn. As the years pass, Regina continues to be utterly amazing, and this was a fantastic Christmas present with which to round off 2010.

This album doesn’t just prove this woman’s talents as a live performer: it forms a retrospective of her wildly oddball writing skills and her full armoury of vocal ticks. Lynn says correct things about it here.

Click the images for links to the albums on Spotify, where available. You’re welcome.

Brian’s Mixtape #44: Then & Now

Lynn Roberts — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:36:20 +0000

FFS turned two last month, and while we don’t like to make a fuss, it’s made us a tad reflective. Especially Brian, who’s a sentimental sort of owl. He has been remembering all the beautiful music he’s listened to over the past couple of years and has concluded that it has made his life approximately 160 per cent better than it otherwise would have been.

When FFS began in 2008 it was because we were very excited indeed about artists like Laura Marling, Noah & the Whale, Johnny Flynn, Peggy Sue and Mumford & Sons. And in our humblest of opinions, the music these bands make has just got better and better.

As well as being sentimental, Brian is a fan of science and so he has constructed an experiment to test our hypothesis. Here are some examples of the work of our heroes and heroines then and now. Cast your votes on which mini playlist you prefer.

And listen to the whole lot on Spotify – Brian’s Mixtape #44: Then & Now

Then:
Laura Marling – New Romantic
Mumford & Sons – White Blank Page
Johnny Flynn – Hong Kong Cemetry
Noah And The Whale – 2 Bodies 1 Heart
Slow Club – Me And You
Emmy The Great – Canopies And Drapes
Broadcast 2000 – Pep Talk
Alessi’s Ark – The Horse

Now:
Broadcast 2000 – Gonna Build A Mountain
Johnny Flynn – Kentucky Pill
Laura Marling – Rambling Man
Slow Club – It Doesn’t Have To Be Beautiful
Mumford & Sons – Thistle & Weeds
Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby
Noah And The Whale – Love Of An Orchestra
Alessi’s Ark – The Bird Song

Cocos Lovers win Schmercury Poll 2010

Lynn Roberts — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:15:50 +0000

We’re delighted to announce that the wonderful Cocos Lovers are your choice for our Schmercury Best Album Poll.

The Lovers’ debut LP Johannes was shortlisted alongside 11 other albums from the past year, and thanks to a groundswell of internet support, pipped Laura Marling’s I Speak Because I Can to top position.

Our Editor’s Picks this year are Broadcast 2000 – Broadcast 2000 and Anais Mitchell – Hadestown. All three are remarkable albums which we’d be very proud of indeed if we’d had anything to do with them. Which, sadly, we didn’t.

To celebrate the poll, we’re offering you the chance to win a plethora of B2000 goodies, kindly donated by the man himself Joe Steer.

To enter just email schmercs [at] forfolkssake.com telling us YOUR favourite album of the year.

Schmercuries: vote now for your album of the year.

Lynn Roberts — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:40:42 +0000

It’s the last day of voting for our Mercury spoof the Schmercury poll… Don’t miss the chance to vote for your favourite.

Schmercuries interview series: Broadcast 2000?s Joe Steer

Lynn Roberts — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:21:09 +0000

Congratulations, you’ve been nominated for a Schmercury. How do you feel?
Elated! It’s my first ever award nomination!

What did you think of the Mercury nominations this year?
As ever with the Mercurys there’s a good spread. It’s the only awards list I follow really, it’s always interesting to see who gets the nod. When it comes to the folky stuff I was actually surprised to see Laura Marling on there again.. Her album was a bit of disappointment for me compared to her debut.

Aside from your own, what’s your favourite album on the Schmercuries list?
I thought Field Music and Noah & The Whale’s albums were superb and surprised not to see them on the Mercury list. I’ve just discovered Caitlin’s stuff which is really lovely. There’s a few others on there I need to have a proper listen to but it’s all very much to my taste.

What album (released in the past year) have we missed off the list?
Left With Pictures.. Their album is really brilliant, for some reason they’ve consistently and inexplicably flown under the radar!

What are your thoughts about the album?
I’m proud of it. I achieved what I wanted to achieve musically and production wise, and I don’t cringe when I listen back to it! I’m also managing to make a decent living through exploiting the songs in various ways so all in all I’m a very happy man.

Did you know it was special when you were making it?
I’m chuffed if you or anyone else think it’s special but I haven’t really thought of it like that. There’s plenty of albums that I love and think are special but it’s difficult for me to stand back and objectivise like that with my own work.

Were you happy with it when it was released?
Yeah I was and I’m still happy with it! (how boring)

What do you think about the critics and fans’ reaction to it?
It didn’t generally get slagged which was nice! But then it didn’t get the kind of exposure that albums on the larger labels get. If you’re a little fish like me, anything about you that makes it into the music press tends to be positive.. if they don’t like you they just won’t bother writing a review. It’s the bands on major labels who’ve had a huge promotional push that have to worry about getting terrible reviews.

What’s your favourite album ever?
It really depends on my mood, but Paul Simon Graceland is without doubt my most listened to.

Do you have plans for your next album?
Yeah, I’m working on it right now. I’m actually waiting for planning permission from Haringey Council to a build a little recording studio in my garden (a glorified shed!) where I’m going to finish recording it. I’m hoping to take it in a slightly different direction musically, and I’ve just invested in a real piano which is very exciting for me! To keep things interesting I like to give myself constraints and for this album I’ve vowed not to use any guitar at all (my music up until this point has been very much acoustic guitar based). I’m in an incredibly luxurious position at the moment where I don’t have to work a day job (which was always the case until recently). I’m now in a position in which I can finance the production of a new album myself, whilst retaining all the rights to my music and my recordings. (Smug face)

Brian’s Mixtape #41: Pick of the Schmercuries 2010

Lynn Roberts — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:22:58 +0000

This weekend we launched our Schmercury Poll – FFS’s best album award, in which we’re asking you to vote for your favourite of 12 albums released in the past year. While the FFS editors were tearing our hair out, trying to whittle down the huge pile of wonderful albums released this year to our favourite 12 being forced to discard dearly-loved works of art to get down to the requisite dozen, Brian was sitting back, tapping the armrests with the tips of his wings, and biding his time.

Then when we announced the list, he took a quick glance over it, scribbled down 12 tracks with an air of nonchalance that was frankly a little irritating to the frazzled of nerve, and handed over this list with a wryly arched eyebrow.

As much as we hate to admit it, Brian is right to be smug. We think this might be his best playlist ever. The swine.

Listen on Spotify: Brian’s Mixtape #41: Pick of the Schmercuries 2010

Caitlin Rose – For The Rabbits
Field Music – Them That Do Nothing
Laura Marling – Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)
Noah And The Whale – Love Of An Orchestra
Broadcast 2000 – Your Own Worst Enemy
Peggy Sue – Watchman
Midlake – Acts Of Man
Anais Mitchell – Way Down Hadestown
Cocos Lovers – Time To Stand
Mountain Man – Dog Song
Sea Of Bees – Wizbot
Local Natives – World News

Spotify is now freeeee. You can download it here for access to tons and tons of music. As the name suggests Brian has put together rather more playlists than just this, with themes to suit your every mood. Pop over to our mixtapes section to discover them all.

Schmercury Awards 2010: Shortlist announced

Lynn Roberts — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:13:37 +0000

Not one to be left out of all this Mercury spoofing, FFS is delighted to announce this year’s Schmercury Awards shortlist. We had such a hard time whittling all the fantastic albums released this year down to just 12 that we had to have a sit down with some tea and Belle & Sebastian to calm our nerves. However, it is done, and here – in alphabetical order – are our finalists.

Broadcast 2000 – Broadcast 2000
Gemma Hampson said: “This album is a hit waiting in the wings. It’s eclectic enough to be accepted by some of the alt-folk fanatics, different enough to be listened to by those dipping a toe into the more avant-garde acoustic and commercial enough to be played all over every radio station and snapped up by the masses.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now
Helen True said: “Caitlin Rose is a young, fresh, twenty-something who knows her way around country music backwards and upside-down. There’s nothing remotely cheesy or outdated about her lyrics, and yet they fit beautifully over what is undeniably very traditional country music. She writes witty words packed with verve and intelligence, all set alight when she sings with the most gorgeous Tennessee drawl.
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Cocos Lovers – Johannes
Alice Knapp said: “Kentish folk stalwarts Cocos Lovers’ latest album, Johannes, captures all the beauty of their live singing. The clear-toned guitars, flickering mandolin and chorus vocals are filled with British tradition. At the same time, other worldwide musical references can be heard in the use of upbeats, hand drums, accordions and operatic vocal cords.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Field Music – Measure
Liane Escorza said: “A kaleidoscope of textures and a versatile canvas of sounds… it opens up shyly, gets confident and alert on its own toes and then bursts into wings of indulgence… a brilliant surge of compelling music and a jungle of brilliant surprises.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
Lynn Roberts said: “Mixing Beach Boys’ sunny Californian harmonies and Simon & Garfunkel’s syncopated rhythms with a raucous, upbeat and infectious dollup of youthful energy, Local Natives’ soaring vocals and everyday, truthful lyrics make Gorilla Manor a true delight… and what’s more, one you can dance to.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Interview)

Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
Lynn Roberts said: “The most surprising aspect of I Speak Because I Can is just how robust the once painfully shy Laura now sounds. With rousingly primal tracks like opener Devil’s Spoke, she has extended her repertoire from the meeker sounds of Alas I Cannot Swim. In fact, this LP is in danger of totally overshadowing her Mercury-nominated debut.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Midlake – The Courage of Others
Stephen Thomas said: “Present on Courage is the sort of sweeping majesty that was a staple ingredient of the folk scene in the early seventies. With this album Midlake have realised their position in the world, and in the music industry – and it’s right at the top of the pile.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Anais Mitchell – Hadestown
Lynn Roberts said: “It’s been all I could do to tear myself away from Anais Mitchell’s concept album/folk opera Hadestown. A modern retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, it features guest vocals from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Ben Knox Milller from the Low Anthem as well as Greg Brown and Ani DeFranco. It’s definitely one of the best things I’ve heard all year.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Mountain Man – Made the Harbor
Ali Mason said: “Bluegrass-tinged folk songs bringing to mind the vast sweeping landscapes of the United States, from the New England hills through the Rockies and the Deep South and beyond, as they sing about buffalos and herons and rivers and bees. What marks it out more than the complex, three-part harmonies which flit so gracefully on the air is the sense of stillness and calm which pervades. A perfectly-formed work of understated joy.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Noah & the Whale – The First Days of Spring
Lois Jeary said: “A lifetime of heartbreak away from the whistling and clapping of their twee-folk debut, the album is Charlie Fink’s brutal confession on the state of his heart following his relationship with Laura Marling. But with the imagery of approaching “blue skies” recurring throughout, the lingering impression left by this beautiful album is not of desolation, but of the broken heart’s cautious optimism at the freedom to pursue new possibilities and loves.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Peggy Sue – Fossils & Other Phantoms
Mary Machin said: “Peggy Sue have concocted a heady mixture of blues, rock and doo-wap with their debut. Fossils is a flawlessly contained world all of its own. Its remarkable coherance makes it a body of work to be cherished for years to come.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Sea of Bees – Songs for the Ravens
Nikki Dodds said: “This sweet and complex record presents a hybrid of tunes all tied together via the lazy warmth of Baenziger’s voice. It is interesting and moreish as you witness the tracks tumble between dark and light.”
(Spotify, MySpace, FFS Review)

Like last year — when The Leisure Society’s debut album The Sleeper won the first FFS Schmercury Poll after a battle with Camera Obscura’s My Maudlin Career — we’ve refused to be constrained by geography as the Mercury Prize is, and so this list features our favourite records from around the world.

Have yourselves a listen, and then vote for your pick of the bunch below (you can vote once a day, if you’re keen). But whichever wins, know that we recommend all of these records very highly indeed and urge you to seek out the ones you haven’t heard. Because there’re few things nicer than discovering another brilliant album.

For Folk's Sake » Broadcast 2000

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